1. Technical Field
The present invention relates generally to vehicular rain skirts; and, more particularly, to simple, rugged, economical and highly effective modular rain skirt assemblies which can be quickly and easily installed on a wide range of vehicles but, especially, outboard of the rear wheels of large tractor trailers of virtually any conventional type including, but not limited to, reefers, tankers, enclosed box trailers, low-boys, etc., all irrespective of whether applied to trucks and/or tractor-trailers employing one or more single axles and/or one or more tandem axles, and irrespective of whether any given axle employs one wheel or coaxial dual wheels.
More specifically, vehicular rain skirt assemblies embodying features of the present invention are characterized by their significant reduction of traffic hazards resulting from highly atomized, fine, dense mists that are protected laterally from the wheels of trucks traveling on wet highways, both from the standpoint of the vehicle on which the rain skirt assemblies are employed and from the standpoint of other vehicles which are either passing the truck or are being passed by the truck. Additionally, rain skirt assemblies embodying features of the invention significantly enhance the aesthetic appearance of the vehicles to which they are attached, while simultaneously permitting of incorporation of reflectors and/or running lights to further enhance safety characteristics, as well as permitting placement of corporate logos and the like that serve to identify the vehicle owner and/or user, all without interfering in any way with complete freedom of unobstructed access to the vehicle's running gear for purposes of changing tires, installing and/or removing chains, and/or other routine maintenance procedures.
2. Background Art
For many years there has been an ever increasing problem resulting from the use of heavy trucks and tractor-trailer rigs on heavily trafficked roads during and/or immediately following rainstorms and other inclement weather conditions--e.g., melting snow, etc. Thus, when such heavy vehicles are driven over wet road surfaces, particularly at relatively high speeds, rain accumulated on the road surface is picked up by the vehicle's running gear and centrifugally projected therefrom in droplet form at relatively high speeds, impacting the vehicle undercarriage and other vehicle structure and generating a large quantity of extremely fine, atomized, dense mist particles which are projected laterally from those areas of the vehicle which are located adjacent the upper surfaces of the tires and the vehicle's undercarriage.
From the standpoint of the truck driver, the finely atomized mist generated by the rear wheels of the truck and/or any trailer appended thereto and which is protected laterally creates a significant traffic hazard since, under these conditions, the driver is often unable to see through the vehicle's rearview mirrors either the rear end of his/her own vehicle or other vehicles which are passing or being passed. Moreover, such mists often make it difficult, if not impossible, for the truck driver to see signal lights on trailing vehicles which are commonly used to alert the driver as to when it is and/or is not safe to move from one lane of moving traffic to another. Of course, those skilled in the art will readily appreciate that a similar misting problem is also generated at the front wheels of such vehicles: but, this is commonly of less concern to the truck driver who generally sits sufficiently high above the road that mists projected laterally from the front wheels create no particular problem for the truck driver.
On the other hand, drivers of small vehicles such as automobiles, pickup trucks, and the like, are subjected to unnecessary risks and dangers by the laterally projecting mists whenever they are in a passing situation--be it a situation where they are being passed by the truck or where they are driving the passing vehicle--and, this is true irrespective of whether the mist is projected laterally by the truck's and/or trailer's rear wheels or by the front wheels. Indeed, virtually all drivers of small automotive vehicles have, in the past, actually experienced real danger when either passing trucks or being passed by trucks on rain soaked highways, particularly at high speeds--a danger that is directly attributable to the laterally protected, finely atomized, dense mist generated by the truck's wheels which serves to virtually blind the small vehicle driver during the entire period of time when the automobile is adjacent the heavy truck and either even with, or aft of, the front wheels of the truck. And, of course, when the two vehicles are both being operated at speeds which are not significantly different, the passing condition can exist for up to several seconds, during which time the small vehicle driver may be unable to see what is in front or what is in back of his or her vehicle; and, since the small vehicle driver is unable to see clearly either to the front or to the rear, he/she is often reluctant to either increase speed or decrease speed, thereby exacerbating the blindness problem.
As a consequence of the foregoing severe safety hazard, many states have, during the last decade or so, enacted laws requiring trucks and other heavy duty vehicles above a certain tonnage to shield their wheels so as to minimize lateral projection of finely divided dense sprays and/or mists; and, other states are presently contemplating such legislation. This has, in turn, lead to extensive research and development work in an effort to devise effective shielding arrangements which can be employed to comply with such regulations. Unfortunately, however, prior to the advent of the present invention, such efforts have not proven successful; and, as a consequence, some states have delayed implementation of their laws while others are simply making no effort to enforce them, all pending the availability of an effective shielding arrangement that can be readily applied to trucks of different types and which conform to other vehicular regulations.
For example, one type of proposed system which has been used involves the mounting of brushes, bristles, and the like, on the vehicle in a position to positively wipe the surface of the vehicle's rapidly rotating tires so as to remove the water clinging thereto before it is converted from discrete liquid droplets to a finely atomized mist. While the foregoing system has met with some degree of success in terms of mist elimination, it has not been found to be either commercially acceptable or practical for a number of reasons. Thus, such an arrangement serves to generate considerable heat and results in undesirable wear of the tires. Moreover, the brushes and bristles are quickly worn out and need to be replaced. Therefore, such systems are prohibitively expensive. Indeed, such an arrangement does not readily lend itself to installation when inclement conditions are encountered and removal when good weather conditions are encountered; and, consequently, the heat generation and wear problems continue even under the best of weather conditions when the mist eliminators are performing no useful function.
Recognizing the need for an effective means for eliminating this serious traffic hazard problem, extensive research and development efforts have been conducted during the past decade in an effort to devise acceptable apparatus for heavy trucks and the like which will enable the trucking industry to comply with the ever more stringent regulations that have been, and are continuing to be, enacted. Exemplary of such research and development efforts are the various systems disclosed in recently issued U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,192,522--Morgan (1980), 4,325,563--Brandon et al (1982), 4,436,319--Clutter (1984), and 4,445,700--Schroeder (1984).
Thus, the aforesaid Morgan patent discloses a highway vehicle splash and spray control shield comprising a bulky, complex, box-like baffle arrangement adapted to be mounted on the tandem axles of truck-trailer combinations and defining a system which attempts to control spray by aerodynamically controlling the flow of air in the region of the vehicle's running gear.
Similarly, Brandon et al have attempted to control the problem by designing a complex baffle arrangement defining a plurality of curved air passages by which it is intended to separate water droplets from the moving air.
In the aforesaid Clutter and Schroeder patents, the patentees provide relatively cumbersome, box-like, baffle structures which are designed to substantially enclose the forward, upper and rearward inner and outer surfaces of the vehicle wheels irrespective of whether single or tandem axles are employed and irrespective of whether each axle carries a single tire or adjacent coaxial dual tires. Clutter is of further interest for his disclosure of other patentees' unsuccessful efforts to resolve the spray problem.
Other patents of purely incidental interest are: U.S. Pat. No. 2,972,149--Bracesco relating to a mud guard; and, U.S. Pat. No. 4,406 474--Scharf relating to a vehicle fender attachment.
Each of the foregoing patented approaches incorporate a number of inherent disadvantages which, for the most part, have rendered the patented products impractical. Thus, the traffic safety hazard resulting from the driving of heavy trucks on wet highways, particularly at high speeds, is, as previously stated, directly attributable to the fact that water is picked up by the rotating tires, centrifugally projected against the vehicle undercarriage and running gear so as to convert the water droplets into finely atomized and extremely dense mist which is projected laterally away from the truck. Consequently, solution to the problem lies in reduction, and elimination if possible, of the laterally directed component of such mists which: (i) interfere with and obstruct the truck driver's vision through rearview mirrors when such mists are projected laterally from the rear wheels of the truck; and (ii), interfere with, obstruct and, in severe conditions, blind other motorists who are either passing the truck or are being passed by the truck--a severe problem encountered at all axle locations on the truck. Thus, solution to the problem does not lie in enclosing the wheels in box-like baffle structures which tend to retain heat, which are difficult to install and remove, and which themselves tend to produce finely atomized mists when impacted by centrifugally projected water droplets moving at high speeds. Nor is it believed that the solution lies in trying to wipe the moisture off the rapidly rotating wheels with brushes nor in attempting to provide baffles to control and direct airflow. Indeed, such complex baffle arrangements are not only difficult to install, prohibitively expensive, and actual sources of finely atomized mist, but, moreover, they make work on the vehicle's running gear extremely difficult when the driver is required to change tires, install and/or remove chains, or to engage in other routine maintenance of the running gear.